Description
Book SynopsisFramed by theories of syncretism and revitalization, Religious Revitalization among the Kiowas examines changes in Kiowa belief and ritual in the final decades of the nineteenth century. During the height of the horse-and-bison culture, Kiowa beliefs were founded in the notion of daudau, a force permeating the universe that was accessible through vision quests. Following the end of the Southern Plains wars in 1875, the Kiowas were confined within the boundaries of the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache (Plains Apache) Reservation. As wards of the government, they witnessed the extinction of the bison herds, which led to the collapse of the Sun Dance by 1890.Though prophet movements in the 1880s had failed to restore the bison, other religions emerged to fill the void left by the loss of the Sun Dance. Kiowas now sought daudau through the Ghost Dance, Christianity, and the Peyote religion.Religious Revitalization among the Kiowas examines the historical and sociocultural conditions that spawned the
Trade Review“Encyclopedic. . . . The Santa Fe materials take center stage but are also supplemented by previous and subsequent research by scholars like Mooney. The result is what could hardly be imagined as a more complete summary of a people’s beliefs and rituals at a particular moment in time—a moment that had just ended when the data were collected and that, despite all of the tribulations and losses faced by the Kiowa, continues not only to be remembered but to reverberate through their culture.”—Jack David Eller,
Anthropology Review Database "Benjamin R Kracht's new book
Religious Revitalization Among the Kiowas: The Ghost Dance, Peyote, and Christianity explores the often-intertwined histories of the Kiowa Ghost Dance, the Native American Church, and indigenous Christianity through the lens of revitalization movements. . . . This is a strong work in the field of anthropology of religion."—Angela Tarango,
Reading Religion"This is a landmark contribution on Native American resistance to colonization, missionization, and domination by Euro-American settlers. . . . [Kracht's] masterful use of interviews and primary documents greatly contributes to original knowledge of life in the American Plains. . . . This book, recording individual, family, and community church histories, should benefit Kiowa for generations to come."—
Great Plains Quarterly“Demonstrates a remarkable knowledge and familiarity with Kiowa life, history, and traditions, both past and present. . . . This book is a model of excellence in anthropological historiography, offering a multitude of cogent insights and many remarkable, moving Kiowa testimonies—an engaging, informative book!”—Lee Irwin, professor of religious studies at the College of Charleston and author of
Coming Down from Above: Prophecy, Resistance, and Renewal in Native American Religions “Benjamin Kracht enlightens us about how indigenous groups, once called the vanishing race, survived and rebuilt their nations. Through religious syncretism and their unique understanding of the sacred, the Kiowa people established a new Kiowa Way—combining traditionalism with external religions. This extraordinary scholarship explores the resilience of indigenous peoples and the reinventing of culture.”—Donald L. Fixico, Distinguished Foundation Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of
Call for Change: American Indian History, Reality, and Ethos “An important book for students of Kiowa culture, for scholars of American Indian religion, and for anyone interested in how human communities adapt to changing environments and circumstances. A valuable contribution to anthropological literature.”—James Treat, author of
Around the Sacred Fire: Native Religious Activism in the Red Power EraTable of ContentsList of Illustrations
Kiowa Pronunciations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Kiowa Culture in the Nineteenth Century
1. Christianity, Peyotism, Shamanism, and Prophecy from the Reservation Period to Statehood, 1869–1906
2. The Ghost Dance, 1890–1916
3. Christianity and Peyotism in the Postallotment Era
4. Peyotism and Christianity after World War II
Conclusion: Indigenized Christianity and Spirituality
Notes
References
Index
